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Emily St. John Mandel

エミリー・セント・ジョン・マンデル

Emily St. John Mandel

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1979 （Merville, British Columbia, Canada）
Nationality
Canadian
Languages
English
Residence History
Merville, British Columbia, Canada → Denman Island, British Columbia, Canada → Toronto, Ontario, Canada → Montreal, Quebec, Canada → New York City (Brooklyn), USA

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Essayist, Writer
Active Years
2002-

Education

School of Toronto Dance Theatre
Country: Canada
Left high school at 18 to study contemporary dance.

Awards

Prix Mystère de la Critique (Best Foreign Novel)
2014
Work: The Singer's Gun
Organization: Prix Mystère de la Critique
Result: 受賞
National Book Award for Fiction
2014
Work: Station Eleven
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: ファイナリスト
Arthur C. Clarke Award
2015
Work: Station Eleven
Organization: Arthur C. Clarke Award
Result: 受賞
Toronto Book Award
2015
Work: Station Eleven
Organization: City of Toronto
Result: 受賞
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
2015
Work: Station Eleven
Organization: PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Result: ファイナリスト
Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (Longlist)
2015
Work: Station Eleven
Organization: Baileys Women's Prize
Result: ロングリスト
Prix des libraires du Québec (Novel — Outside Quebec)
2017
Work: Station Eleven
Organization: Prix des libraires du Québec
Result: 受賞
Scotiabank Giller Prize (Shortlist)
2020
Work: The Glass Hotel
Organization: Scotiabank Giller Prize
Result: ショートリスト
Goodreads Choice Awards (Best Science Fiction)
2022
Work: Sea of Tranquility
Organization: Goodreads
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Last Night in Montreal

2009 Literary noir

Follows a young woman with a secret who cannot settle in one city; pursued by a private detective and a former lover, she is forced to confront a past she cannot remember.

memoryidentitysecrets

The Singer's Gun

2010 Crime fiction

Tells the story of Anton Waker, who grew up around corruption and decides to live honorably; his life unravels when his cousin blackmails him into one last job.

corruptionfamilyintegrity vs. deception

The Lola Quartet

2012 Literary noir

A literary noir set in Florida after the 2008 financial crisis. Gavin, a fired journalist and former jazz musician, searches for a child he never knew he had and the supposed mother.

lossfamily secretseffects of economic crisis

Station Eleven

2014 Post-apocalyptic novel 336 pages

A post-apocalyptic novel set in a near future devastated by a virus, following a traveling troupe of Shakespearean actors and interconnected characters around the Great Lakes region.

pandemiccollapse of civilizationart and survivalmemory and interconnectedness
Adaptations
  • [Television miniseries] Station Eleven (HBO Max miniseries) (2021)
Translations
  • Translated into 33 languages

The Glass Hotel

2020 Mystery thriller 352 pages

A mystery thriller that explores financial wrongdoing, alienation, guilt and redemption through an ensemble of interconnected characters.

financial fraudguilt and redemptionillusion vs. reality
Adaptations
  • [Television series (rights acquired)] The Glass Hotel (TV adaptation — in development)

Sea of Tranquility

2022 Speculative fiction / Science fiction

A work of speculative fiction that explores time travel and the simulation hypothesis across multiple eras and locations, probing questions of existence and reality.

time travelsimulation hypothesisalienation and connection

Bibliography

  • Last Night in Montreal (2009)
  • The Singer's Gun (2010)
  • The Lola Quartet (2012)
  • Station Eleven (2014)
  • The Glass Hotel (2020)
  • Sea of Tranquility (2022)

Adaptations

  • Station Eleven — HBO Max miniseries (2021)
  • The Glass Hotel — TV rights acquired by NBCUniversal (in development)

Translations of Works

  • Station Eleven — translated into 33 languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Lyrical yet precise proseIntersecting multi-character perspectivesGenre-blending (literary fiction with elements of SF and thriller)
Recurring Motifs
memory and forgettingthe preservative role of art (theatre, music)fragility of civilization and human interconnectednessquestions of time and reality

Legacy

Emily St. John Mandel is a contemporary anglophone writer known for genre-crossing work and intricately connected characters. Station Eleven achieved wide translation and a television adaptation, earning multiple literary awards and nominations. Her recent novels have been critically acclaimed and influential in popular culture.

In Popular Culture

  • HBO Max adaptation of Station Eleven (2021)

Trivia

  • Left high school at 18 to study contemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre.
  • Station Eleven has been translated into 33 languages and adapted as an HBO Max miniseries.
  • The Glass Hotel was selected by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of 2020.
  • Divorced Kevin Mandel in 2022; married Laura Barisonzi in March 2025 (public posts).